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Pope Francis easily top religious newsmaker of the year

Pope Benedict's resignation also garners votes in poll

Pope Francis waves from his popemobile as he makes his way into central Rio de Janeiro during a trip in July. During his visit, Francis met with legions of young Roman Catholics who were converging on Rio for the church's World Youth Day festival. The pontiff was elected March 13 to the papacy.

Talk about your no-brainer. Pope Francis was a slam-dunk as both the top story and newsmaker of the year for 2013 by the Religion Newswriters Association in its annual poll released earlier this month.

Yes, the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis, easily outdistanced the story of the “historic” resignation of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his intentions to give up his papacy Feb. 28. In so doing, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to step down in nearly 600 years since Pope Gregory XII did so in 1415.

Oh, yes, and this just in: Pope Francis also garnered top honors as the Religion Newsmaker of the Year. No surprise there either.

Here are the Top 10 religion stories of the year, according to the RNA website www.rna.org:

1. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, of Argentina, is a surprise choice to succeed Benedict, with the announcement coming March 13. He becomes the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name of Francis. The 266th pope of the Catholic Church, Benedict sets the tone for what would become a positive start to his papacy by meeting with the poor in Brazil, embracing the ill, issuing conciliatory words toward gays and calling for a poorer and more pastoral church.

2. At 85, Pope Benedict XVI cites health and age issues in becoming the first pope to resign in almost 600 years. He makes his announcement Feb. 28.

3. The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote clears the way for gay marriage in California and voids the ban on federal benefits to same-sex couples. Gay marriage continues to make inroads within the states, with Illinois and Hawaii becoming the 15th and 16th states to approve same-sex marriage. New Mexico becomes the 17th state to legalize gay marriage Dec. 19.

4. The Obama administration makes concessions to faith-based organizations and businesses opposed to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, but not enough to satisfy many of them. The disagreement continues as the U.S. Supreme Court accepts a case brought by Hobby Lobby challenging the mandate.

5. Islam plays a central role in the post-Arab Spring Middle East as the Egyptian military ousts the elected, Muslim Brotherhood-led government and violently cracks down on its supporters. Meanwhile, Sunni Islamist fighters increase their role in Syria’s opposition.

6. Icon of reconciliation and nonviolence Nelson Mandela dies at age 95 on Dec. 5 in South Africa and is remembered as a modern-day Moses who led his people out of racial captivity.

7. Religious-inspired attacks claim scores of lives in different areas of the world, with extremist Buddhist monks attacking Muslims in Myanmar and Muslim extremists targeting Christians at churches in Egypt, an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and a church in Peshawar, Pakistan. Moderate religious leaders condemn the attacks.

8. More than 1 in 5 Jews in America now report having no religion, according to a landmark survey from the Pew Research Center. The number of professing Jewish adults is now less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, though Jewish identity remains strong.

9. The Boy Scouts of America, after much debate, votes to accept openly gay Scouts but not Scoutmasters. Several Catholic leaders endorse the move, while some evangelical leaders oppose it.

10. Muslims join those across the country who condemn a devastating bombing at the Boston Marathon by two young Muslim men who attended college in the area. People of many faiths were among the many who showed an outpouring of support for victims.

Other stories garnering votes in the poll included:

■ Faith-based groups seeking immigration reform, especially Nuns on the Bus, rejoice when a comprehensive bill passes the Senate. But immigration reform languishes in the House.

■ The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is marked by sermons, speeches and articles.

■ The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious festival that occurs every 12 years and is believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth, began in January 2013 in Allahabad, India, at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythic Saraswati rivers. It lasted 55 days and drew approximately 80 million pilgrims.

■ The number of professing Christians in England and Wales drops by more than 4 million in 10 years, to 33 million; atheists total 6 million, Muslims 2.7 million. Meanwhile, Canadians of no religion are up to 25 percent, up from 16.5 a decade ago.

■ The son of megachurch pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren commits suicide at age 27 after living with depression. Matthew Warren’s death prompts a national conversation about mental health among faith leaders.

■ Elizabeth Eaton, bishop of Northeast Ohio, becomes the first female head bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America after defeating the incumbent by 2-1. Earlier, Guy Erwin, of the Southwest California Synod, became the first openly gay ELCA bishop.

■ The Presbyterian Church-USA follows a trend among mainline Protestant denominations of losing members to conservative groups. In 2012, 110 churches left the denomination — more than five times the number that left in 2011.

■ Exodus International, a Florida-based agency that tried to change the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians, closes down after leaders admitted the tactic was impractical and apologized to the LGBT community.

■ Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah coincided on Nov. 28 in what was dubbed “Thanksgivukkah,” an event that had not occurred since the 1800s and won’t happen again for an estimated more than 75,000 years.